Simplify
by Luffywhatelse
Summary: An old classmate calls home asking for Winry but it's Edward answering the phone…And he could never stand that guy. (This takes place during the time spent by the Elric brothers at Winry's house after the Promise Day, then before the proposal. Ed and Winry are not dating or anything)
1. Chapter 1

"Hello?" Edward answered the phone.  
"Rockbell residence?" a male voice on the other side asked.  
"Yes. Who's talking?"  
"It's David Russell, could I talk to Winry?"  
 _That David?_ He was an old classmate, yes, but where did he come from? And why did he have their phone number? "Hello," he greeted him icily, "I'm Edward. Edward Elric."  
"...Elric?" he seemed surprised, "That Elric? What are you doing there?"  
 _Seriously?_ The first thing that came to his mind was to ask what Edward was doing there? As if _that_ was the weirdest thing. If anything, why that bastard had just called Winry? "I live here!" Ed said.  
"Do you live with Winry?"  
"Yup," He answered aseptically and a little triumphant.  
"C'mon, I didn't know…how are you doing it?" he was trying to be all friendly.  
 _What an obnoxious, two-faced_ – Ed thought. "Fine, thank you," and he wasn't about to ask him the same; that guy was lucky if Ed just answered him.  
"I'm glad. Can I talk to Winry?"  
 _What a stubborn one_. "No. Winry cannot answer," he lied. "Bye," it feels like they're back at school.  
"Hey Elric, just give her a message from me."  
Edward remained silent on the phone and didn't hang up just because he was curious to know where it was going.  
"I wanted her to confirm our appointment for Saturday, I'll pick her up at 19. Bye," and he hung up.  
The alchemist felt like he was sinking in a swamp. Literally. He stood there and didn't even hang up, as if everything around him had become terribly dark. What he felt was a mixture of anger and disappointment, he didn't even know against who. He felt like he got played and at the same time like he had lost his only grip in the middle of a storm.  
"Nii-san?" Alphonse's voice surprised him, "Who was it?"  
"Uh...?" Ed just whispered.  
"What's up? You're white as a sheet! Is everything ok?  
"No. Nothing is ok at all. It was David Russell on the phone and he wanted to talk with Winry."  
"Who?" the youngest of the Elrics thought about it for a moment, that name reminded him of something, "Ah, the guy you couldn't stand at school!" Then he realized better, "Why did he call, where does he come out now?"  
Fortunately there was Alphonse who could understand him. "That's what I asked myself!" growled his older brother accordingly.  
"What did he want from Winry?"  
"An appointment, he wanted that she would confirm an appointment," he spat in one breath. "You had to hear him, so bragging, he told me to spite me…the hell I put her on! Bastard!"  
"What do you mean, _an appointment_? When?"  
"For Saturday night," he gritted his teeth. "Do you realize? But who he thinks he is?"  
Alphonse didn't know what to think, he was as surprised as Ed was. Winry hadn't mentioned it. It was also true that, since they had grown up, she no longer opened up on them as they were kids, but he was convinced that she would have told them something like that.  
Unlike Edward, who at that moment looked like a whirlwind made of anger, Al thought about it lucidly but, at the same time, he knew that it would be better to appease his brother's mind first, to prevent his head from exploding. "It seems very strange to me, nii-san." First of all, send the message to Winry as soon as she comes back in." Winry was in fact putting her washing out in the garden, "It's not nice you didn't tell her but, at least, you could always rationalize telling her that you didn't want to bother her."  
"Don't even talk about it! I won't tell her anything!"  
"Brilliant..." Al wryly commented, "So you'll find that guy out here anyway Saturday."  
"Let him try showing up here, that bug!" he threatened angrily.  
"Look, Winry will get angry if she finds out you didn't tell her."  
"SHE WHAT?" he shrieked in the highest voice he could do, "SHE'S NOT THE ONE WHO GETS TO BE MAD!"  
"I know, nii-san, I understand your feelings, but if you think about it, you may have misunderstood, maybe we're worrying for no reason. Maybe Winry doesn't know anything about it. Well, according to you this guy has always had a lot of nerve and he could have organized everything by himself...probably also to annoy you, since _surely you have seemed nervous_ ," and he added this last part with the tone of someone who knows his brother so well that he could calmly picture the scene in his mind.  
Edward looked at him sideways. He was contemplating the hypothesis that his brother was right and Alphonse had no doubt he would. He had always been a little vain, so the idea that the guy could say those things just to annoy him seemed entirely plausible to him. "In fact, he has always hated me as much as I hated him, the way I answered must have bothered him! What a total dick!"  
Al also thought that, to tell the truth, Ed's descriptions, in cases where there was some bitterness, were not so reliable, especially if Winry was involved. Alphonse didn't know this Russell but, objectively, he had to acknowledge that his brother named anyone approaching her as a bastard.  
"But honestly..." the elder continued, "If someone had called Mei, what would you have done?"  
"I'd go to him and beat him up."  
"DAMN, LET'S GO THEN!"  
"There is a certain difference, though," said Al.  
"What? What would it be?" he was really going out of his way.  
"She knows what I feel for her, so she feels obliged to tell me certain things. In other words, I have a little right to know; you don't. I'm sorry if I sound mean, but it's true."  
As if it were possible, unlike any other human being who would have been depressed and saddened by agreeing with Alphonse, Ed became even more angry "AAARGH!"  
"What happens here?" Winry arrived with a clean towel in her hands.  
Alphonse nudged his big brother and Edward, reluctantly, mumbled something…that Winry couldn't understand.  
"What do you say?" asked Winry.  
"Russell called," he repeated.  
"Oh."  
 _OH?_ Had she answered _OH_? No surprise? Edward was literally losing his mind.  
"And?...What did he want...?" she insisted on, waiting for the rest of the message.  
" _What did he want_..." Ed just whispered mimicking her. "Don't you already know what he wanted?"  
 _That's great. It started very badly_ – Alphonse thought, feeling guilty for having egged him on with Mei's example.  
"How can I know?" the girl answered candidly.  
"He wanted you to confirm your app..." he stumbled over the last word as if he had suddenly lost his breath. "He said you have to confirm that you can meet him," he decided to change course.  
"Ah, does he still need it?" was Winry's comment at that point.  
Alphonse's eyes widened, Edward was now a creature of fire and ice at the same time: the head wrapped in flames and clenched granite fists.  
Attempting to mask his feelings, he inhaled deeply and opened the fridge with unnaturally casual air. "Oh, have you met other times before?" he asked in a whisper. _And then 'he still need' what?  
_ "Sure!" _  
_Only Alphonse, from his perspective, could see the smoke coming out of his brother's bubbling head – Or was it his soul abandoning him? _  
_"And when would this appointment be anyway?" the blonde girl continued.  
Edward was too wrapped up in his anger, so Alphonse, that looked like one who knows what he's doing, replied: "Saturday at 7 pm, he will come and get you." _  
TRAITOR!_ – Ed screamed mentally, sticking him with his eyes. _  
_"Ok, great, thanks." she started to leave while Edward felt himself falling on his own knees but, suddenly, she exclaimed, "Saturday night…? But I don't work on Saturday night!" _  
_Alphonse, looking pleased, had a sip of his coffee, satisfied because he was right. _  
_"Oh no! Is he still hang up on that?" the girl rolled her eyes. _  
_"What are you talking about?" Ed immediately reawakened, showing his claws. "Do you know what all this means?" _  
_Winry turned to him, "He's my client." _  
_"Really? I didn't realize that," he commented sarcastically. "And what is it that he misses? A leg? An arm? A foot? His head?..." and he decided to stop there so as to keep it clean. _  
_"He doesn't lack a thing. His cat is my client, actually." _  
_"Awww," Alphonse's heart was softened. _  
_Immediately Edward glared at him again. "And what does this have to do with Saturday night?" _  
_"Ed," the girl addressed him directly, "I don't understand why you're making such a big deal, I know you never really liked him but he's still my client." _  
_"A customer to whom you give your phone number." _  
Okay, now he's acting like a jealous boyfriend_ – Alphonse thought, wondering if he was the only one in that kitchen who had noticed it. _  
_"Well, if I did it, maybe I needed to do it," but then, believing that her explanation could sound ambiguous, she added, "I've known him for a long time, he's a friend...he's not exactly a customer like any other."  
 _Winry_... – That last sentence echoed in Ed's head like a time bomb. He thought that was the description that belonged to him alone. But perhaps he had never been her favorite client, the special one, as he thought. And then he became very demoralized. Even in this case, however, the fact of being cast down didn't have the same effect on Ed that it would have on anyone else, but made him more aggressive than a grizzly. _  
_"That bastard is your friend? But if he's always been obnoxious!" _  
_"Ed, you were always the one who was picking fights with him because you detested him." _  
_"Of course, because he was a stupid asshole!" _  
_"Not with me, he has always been kind." _  
_"Oh, please…I wonder why," he muttered in a low voice. _  
_"Do not grumble please, you know I cannot stand it, and anyway thank you for telling me, now I'll call him back." _  
_WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? – Ed felt the urgency to stop her immediately, so, as soon as Winry grabbed the phone, he placed his hand on hers and put it back into place. "What do you want to tell him?" _  
_Winry, astonished, answered him with all the calm that she managed to recover, "That the appointment will obviously be during the day if he needs it, and that he misunderstood me." _  
_But Edward didn't seem to subside and, although he was trying to hide it, Al didn't fall for it, understanding perfectly where he was getting at. " _Misunderstood you_? _"  
_ Two words to start apocalypse. _  
_"Well...you know...he tried to regain confidence by remembering when we were children...As soon as he saw me, he hugged me-" _  
_"Oh, he has also become a pervert! Not that I'm surprised, really," he interrupted her. _  
_Winry ignored him, "Then, he kept coming and sometimes he didn't really need it...When I saw that it went too far, I made him realize that I'm not interested but it seems he didn't understand. " _  
_"Went too far?" Edward took a deep breath, always pretending to be calm. Winry thought all his hatred was clearly and entirely addressed to that guy, so it didn't seem strange to her at all. _  
_"The usual stuff...you know." _  
_"Um...no, really, I don't know…and you, Al, do you know?" he played dumb bringing his brother into that but he was clearly provocative. _  
_"You're kidding me, Ed, what's it, you don't think a nice guy can flirt with me?" _  
_"That idiot is _nice_?" he focused only and solely on _that_ word and not on the fact that Winry was about to take offense seriously. When the problem was that Edward thought it could totally happen. That was precisely why he was flipping out. _  
_"Oh, you know what I mean, and here's a news flash: yes, it's possible, he brought me flowers, he asked me out, asked me out to dinner..." _  
_"Pfft, flowers? What a loser!" he laughed nervously. He was so mad with jealousy that he would have strangled him willingly with his own hands. _  
_"Evidently I deserve them, even if you can find it ridiculous or impossible! He likes me and also a lot! Maybe I should reconsider him!" _  
_"Yes, go ahead, he will also be a depraved jerk but, hey, after so many hours of work you can go out with someone who doesn't need spare parts!" _  
_It was a moment. Winry clenched her jaw, her eyes got big and slapped him in the face. _  
_Then she stood with her head down. When she raised up her head, through the tears that spilled out of her eyes, she saw Ed massaging his cheek. _Did I ever make you think you're a burden to me...?_ she wanted to tell him. But, instead, she whispered, with a lump in her throat, "You're right, maybe I should." _  
_Winry was sure now, Edward didn't really care about her, not the way she wanted. She had to stop expecting something from him. That was what – in addition to the sadness of his statement – made her cry even louder, to the point that she had to run away to avoid doing it in front of him. _  
_Alphonse was so sorry and went after her, "Winry..." _  
_"Leave me alone, Al..." _  
_After she left, Alphonse was face to face with his older brother, "Nii-san, that was completely off the rails. Winry didn't deserve it." _  
_Edward found himself alone, wondering if he had deserved it in a way.


	2. Chapter 2

Then came the night. Alphonse was sprawled out on his bed with the lamp on, reading a book. It was his habit because it helped him sleep and, among other things, he was pleased to savor every pleasure he'd given up on in previous years. Falling asleep while he got his nose buried in a good book was one of them.  
However, in that moment of bliss, he distinctly heard his brother toss and turn and, occasionally, grunt.  
"Nii-san."  
"Mh."  
"How long are you going to be like this?"  
Ed layed on his back and stretched out his legs.  
"Do you want to talk about it?" Al asked.  
Edward didn't answer.  
"As you wish," said Alphonse. "Then stop and sleep."  
"I don't know what we should talk about" began the older brother.  
"For starters, you spent all day without saying a word, you didn't even have dinner together...Do you realize that you're the one who should apologize?" Al asked.  
Edward didn't answer.  
"And do you realize that if you don't, it's you who are paying the price because Winry will really end up going out with that guy?"  
"She would do it anyway...Did you hear her? He's nice, kind, he hugs her, gives her flowers, has a tender heart and a kitten to take care of..." he said with a mocking tone but then his voice was weak "She really likes him," he was having a hard time trying to say that.  
"All things that you could give her...including the automail to take care of," the younger brother pointed out. "Anyway, I don't really think she likes him. She wanted to phone to say no, but you've been a jerk, she got angry and now she'll go out with an idiot pervert with whom she doesn't want to go out, just for spite. Just to spite who? _You_ , of course. But yeah, you're right, she doesn't care much about you at all, nii-san!" he finally exclaimed sarcastically.  
"I didn't say that she doesn't care about me, but that's not the way I..." he didn't finish the sentence. Al had already understood.  
That wasn't the way he wanted her to think about him.  
That thought kept going through Ed's head over and over and he was convinced that she saw him as nothing more than a friend or, perhaps worse, _a brother_. Now he had been downgraded to "client" who wasn't even her favorite. What chance could someone like him have with Winry if this was the case?  
For days, he had tried to find the strength to confess his feelings for her...and, thank goodness, he hadn't the courage, since the answer would undoubtedly have been a resounding NO, or even a big laugh that would have torn his pride to pieces forever. On the one hand it was probably a blessing. He hadn't risked exposing himself and hadn't ruined their friendship by making it embarassing. Now there was just suffering. Because it hurt like hell, fuck. He was still pissed off but soon the anger would be gone and he would have been very sad. But he could do it though. Little by little he would make it.  
Alphonse knew how much his brother was demoralized. There was nothing he could hide from him, he could read him like a book. And he knew that, if Ed hadn't solved the problem yet, it could only mean one thing: he had thought too much about it and he had drawn rash conclusions. Simply put, that matter was taking a sorry course.  
"Nii-san, wait!" he raised his voice a little as if he could hear Ed's thoughts. "Tomorrow, you go apologize to Winry and everything will be alright, you'll see, I know what you're thinking and I know you've come close to the point of no return. You never were one to give up. Do you want to give up just when it comes to her? I don't want to believe it."  
"Al. This isn't about giving up or not," he answered determinedly. "We're not talking about me at all, but about Winry's happiness...I...I want her to be happy but...I don't know if she could ever be with me."  
Alphonse, moved by the fact that his brother finally spoke to him from his heart, sighed. "Why shouldn't she be?" he put his elbow on the bed and rested his chin on his hand to turn toward him.  
Ed turned to look at him; he looked sad. As if to say: you already know the answer.  
There were a million reasons for Edward, actually. Not least his temper. But, to begin with, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and he still thought about how much his mother had suffered. For years, Ed had blamed Hohenheim, only to find out that things were quite different. Still, nevertheless, Trisha Elric had felt so much pain without having a man by her side to lean on. Moreover, there was the fact that, even if Winry was enthusiastic about the whole world of automail, staying with him meant she would have to seriously choose to live with the fact that Ed was missing a limb. That was no small feat and he wouldn't have had her share that burden for anything in the world. She didn't need something to remind her of her mistakes. And that's what Ed said to Al that night.  
"Have you ever tried to tell her the exact words you have told me now? Just the fact that you have thought of something like that makes you the most perfect person to make her happy, do you realize that?" he asked trying not to raise his voice, "And what do you do instead? You risk that she'll never find out and that she'll be content with a complete idiot who would never love her as much as you love her!"  
Edward swallowed noisily.  
"If you don't want to do it for yourself," Al kept talking, "and you'd rather pity yourself probably forever, at least do it for her and do everything so that she get the happiness she deserves!"  
Edward sat on his bed resting his feet on the ground. He kept his eyes on Alphonse. He huffed and puffed, firmly, then he stood up like a spring, heading for the door.  
As usual, with his big brother there is no middle ground, thought Alphonse. Ed was going to talk to Winry right away taking advantage of his impetus, without waiting for the next day.


	3. Chapter 3

It took me so long to post this chapter but here it is. I want to thank my Beta, Id9916, for being extremely helpful and kind in helping me with corrections and improvements.

I hope you enjoy it! 

* * *

Ed was at Winry's bedroom door. He stopped and took a deep breath. He raised his hand, his fingers curled up in a loose fist, ready to knock. He halted the motion right before hitting the wooden door, though, almost changing his mind.  
He had to act quickly, there was no time to waver, he thought. So, without thinking, he raised his hand again and knocked. "It's me," he said, getting his face closer to the door.  
First he heard the sound of her footsteps approaching. _Thank goodness, she's not already asleep then.  
_ However, the door didn't unlock, Winry's steps turned away. She had decided not to open.

Edward had spent the rest of the night unable to sleep. He was literally consumed by the thought of her disappointed look and wondered if Winry was having trouble sleeping too.  
When he got out of the bed in the morning, he saw his reflection in the mirror and the deep rings around his eyes, realizing he couldn't even get to be mad at her without feeling guilty about it. He felt guilty of hurting her with his words to such an extent that she hadn't wanted to give him the chance to explain himself, but heck, Al was right, Winry was too important and giving up wasn't an acceptable choice. No way. He would try to talk to her again. Even if he had to force her to listen to him. Yeah, but he didn't even know what to say.  
He went to her. She was working, so he brought a cup of coffee. A hot beverage, unlike him, was always welcome.  
He heard her voice, she surely was with a client. A man, actually.  
He barely looked in and saw Russell hugging her.  
His breath died in his throat and he almost ran the risk of dropping his cup of coffee.  
"David-san..." she whispered and got away.  
 _San?  
_ "Give me a chance, just go out with me once... I promise you that if you don't have fun, I'll take you home right away and won't insist anymore."  
 _So in the end Winry refused his invitation. That stubborn bastard!  
_ "I don't..." she then said.  
"Come on..." he urged, placing his hands on her shoulders again to regain contact with her.  
Winry took a step back but he followed her.  
How pushy! That idiot didn't want to give up even though she was clearly refusing him. How dare he impose himself that way? That was enough. He had seen too much.  
Edward came in, making noise, and put his coffee cup on the table.  
"Oh, Elric." David said without taking his hands off Winry, who looked embarrassed.  
Ed turned to them and raised his chin just like a tiny head nod, crossing his arms. He had no intention of leaving but not even of greeting that bastard and probably would have stared at him until that scumbag had thrown those grubby hands off Winry, like back in the old days.  
But things didn't go that way. It was Winry who took his slimy hands off her shoulders. "I'm going to get you that thing for Akira, I'll be right back," she said turning to him.  
Even his cat has a dumb name – Ed thought, watching Winry get out, and then stood there staring at him.  
"Well, what do you want?" Russell blurted out with a snarl, finally showing his true nature. To be honest, the fact that Ed had watched him being rejected must sting like hell.  
"Nothing, I want to stay here. If you got a problem with it, go away," the alchemist replied.  
"I've always been fine with the fact that you were here too," he emphasised that "too" as if Edward had always been the third wheel.  
They stared angrily at each other for a while.  
"Tell me, Elric," he began again, "Did you do that, then?"  
"Do what?" he answered with the minimum number of words he could find without insulting him. And if he restrained himself was only for Winry.  
David laughed. "Don't play innocent. Or are you one of those spineless guys who don't talk about their private things?"  
Edward continued to stare at him, his anger was piling up.  
"Oh man, that chick got a prime cut of ass..."  
"Watch your mouth, bastard!"  
"Not to mention her boobs, I can't wait to hold them in my hands," he continued, biting his fist pretending to feel a stirring.  
"HEY!" Edward went toward him like a caged animal. He couldn't lay a hand on him or, he knew, it would end badly with Winry. "Get the fuck out of here, now," he ordered peremptorily.  
"Or what, Elric?" the other growled. "She's not selling me that… I mean, that being goodie two-shoes... sooner or later she will say yes and you won't be able to do anything..." he turned away, touching the tools on the table and giving a half smile.  
"Impossible, since she will never speak to you again!"  
"You can be sure of that. I will not give her a chance to speak... I have already heard too much chattering and I'm going to do something totally different this Saturday."  
Edward covered the distance between them, then he pounced on him, slamming his back against the wall, "Listen to me! Now turn on your heels, get the hell out, and I'll pretend you didn't say a thing!" Ed was holding him by the shirt while he, achy, giggled.  
That guy seemed amused by his fury and, meeting Ed's wild look and tense expression, added: "Take it easy, I'm leaving," he lifted his hands feigning to surrender, "I'll be careful not to hurt her too much when I fuck her like a little slut... "  
Edward grunted, punched his jaw with all the strength he had and kicked him behind his knees making him crash to the ground with a strangled moan; he was more determined to kill him than to silence him. He kicked him again in the middle of his back, forcing him to fall forward. David dragged with him a whole shelf full of tools that crashed to the ground. But he was still giggling. "You know, I don't understand if you're worried about her or if it bothers you that you're not banging her-" Another fist hit him on the jaw as Edward jumped on him.  
"ARE YOU STILL TALKIN'?" his wrath had exploded and a couple of left hooks landed on the other cheek.  
At that very moment, Winry rushed in, "Hey, what the hell is going on here?" she shouted but Edward could hardly hear her. He felt like going on a killing spree, with one hand holding David by the collar of his shirt while with the other hand he kept punching him again and again.  
"Ed! Stop it!" shouted Winry and Edward, in a shred of sanity, or better of humanity, stopped and stared at him struggling to calm down. But he didn't move from where he was and didn't let go of him.  
"For heaven's sake, get off! Let him go! ALPHOOOOONSE!" Winry began to sob in fright.  
He was unable to break eye contact with David, giving him a threatening stare. His arm was still clutching the other guy in a vice and he wouldn't let him off the hook.  
"Please Ed... let go, you're scaring me..." she said.  
 _Scaring me?_ – Edward blinked hearing those words. Flared nostrils, quick breath; he finally got up. Then he looked back at his opponent, standing still to regain his strength but also to look at him better.  
David clung to a chair to get back to his feet, though stunned. "Don't worry, Winry..." he said, trying to wipe the blood off himself with his shirt sleeve.  
"NEVER SPEAK HER NAME AGAIN WITH THAT FILTHY MOUTH!" Ed shouted.  
Winry turned terrified, to David's pleasure. The girl's breathing was uneven while she stared at Ed without missing a single blink of his eyes.  
"I'm fine," David reassured her in a harsh tone, "It's nothing, but thanks for stopping him," he added only to balm his wounded pride. Then he struggled to right himself, continuing to talk to distract Winry. He put a hand on her cheek and only then Alphonse came along, out of breath. Just in time, because Ed lashed out at David, moving Winry with one arm to get her away from him. The girl shouted reflexively; the violence of the impact almost made her lose her balance. Ed grabbed David, threw him to the ground and was immediately on top of him; the thud took David's breath away.  
Alphonse promptly grabbed his brother by the shoulders and held him up by blocking his arms from behind. Edward wouldn't keep still, wriggling and howling his head off "DON'T TOUCH HER, PIECE OF SHIT BASTARD!" he yelled angrily.  
Winry was too scared to even move.  
"Winry..." David whispered. "It's better for me to go now. I've caused too much trouble," he grunted.  
The girl turned to him when, until then, her eyes had been glued to Ed, as if he was the fierce animal to be afraid of. "Y-yes..."  
David Russell hugged her when there was no possible way that she could stop him and, behind her, flashed Edward the vilest grin he could do. But this time there was also Alphonse to see him.  
Edward freaked out, trying to shake his younger brother off "I'LL KILL YOU!" he said flailing his arms, but Al had always been stronger than him. Thank goodness.  
When David finally left, Al released his grip on his brother, "So can you tell me what the hell is going on?"  
Winry cried, visibly upset, "You scared me to death, I... I... that look of yours... it scares me, Ed!"  
But the boy couldn't find any peace.  
"That bastard... Al, you have no idea what he said!" and then, turning to Winry, he added, "You have to stay away from him, do you understand? You never have to see him again, don't speak to him! NEVER MORE! Do you hear me?"  
Alphonse left them alone to argue and disappeared.  
"But why... why are you doing this?" Winry frowned, clearly frustrated. "What did he say?" she spoke these last words slowly.  
Edward took a breath to answer but couldn't say a word. He was too angry and embarrassed to repeat those sentences.  
Winry shook her head, resigned but angry at the same time, while a tear ran down her face.  
"Please, Winry, don't cry," Ed said, still panting but now worried about her, "You know I can't stand to see you crying..."  
"You should have thought about that before..."  
"You don't get it..." he mumbled as he approached her.  
He watched her. She was like a delicate flower… beautiful even in tears. At that moment, he could barely think of touching her, like he was almost afraid of ruining her; how could that maggot have uttered such insults while he, Edward Elric, was helpless with that seething cauldron of emotions inside him just looking at her?  
Winry screamed exhausted, moving away from him, with a lump in her throat.  
She looked like she just couldn't understand how they got roped into those kinds of conversations. At that point, furious, she yelled, pointing at him, "So I'm the one that doesn't understand? And what exactly am I supposed to understand?"  
Her beautiful, angelic face, with blue eyes and white skin was shadowed by bitterness, "You want to decide things for me, choose who I have to date, with whom I can or cannot speak!" she was shouting at him without even realizing what she was saying, "You're screwing up both my job and life this way: what's wrong with you men? One morbidly insistent who doesn't understand when it's time to stop and the other one possessive without any reason to be... who gave you the right to choose things for me?"  
"Well, actually, YOU said that I wouldn't get rid of you so easily, so you can't get rid of me easily either," he retorted decidedly, not realizing that he sounded almost threatening.  
Winry frowned and Ed couldn't tell whether her heart was softened by the fact that he remembered her sentence pronounced long ago or she wanted to express her outright disagreement even more than before. "Don't you realize you're just like him?"  
"What?" Ed blurted out, insulted and hurt, "WHAT? Ho-how could I?"  
"You're not different and not even better, who do you think you are with your words, your temper…"  
"You can't seriously mean that, Winry... it's crazy," he interrupted her.  
"Indeed, it may be crazy, but that's the problem."  
"That guy's face begs to be slapped! I wish you could have heard what..."  
"Ok, enough of that already! I'll tell you, you... you're such an egotistical, selfish person! You think only of yourself!"  
"I don't care what you think, because I will never let this bastard near you again!" and doing so he stepped across that intangible divide and abolished the physical distance separating them. Then he grabbed her arms harder than he intended, and Winry was pulled to Edward, losing her balance.  
He wrapped her up in his arms as if to physically point out what he had said and Winry found her face pressed against his chest. Ed acted instinctively, without thinking, and squeezed her.  
"What are you doing...?" she asked him, trying to withdraw, "Get off me!" she told him.  
Edward immediately obeyed, feeling guilty, as if his rationality had suddenly awakened.  
"Can't you see? You think you can just hug me to convince me to do what you want, you saved me but you don't even want to tell me from what! It's always like this, you expect me to understand while you're silently staring at me like that, or worse, you keep to yourself and get upset when I don't do it your way, as if I was dull and I couldn't get there on my own! Well, can you tell me exactly what is it that you want me to understand? I mean, what do you want from me? You can't just decide to control me! You can't!"  
She sobbed convulsively, "You... you acted exactly like him... taking upon yourself a right that you don't have!" she severely scolded him before walking out the door, bitterly emphasizing the last three words.  
"Winry!" he screamed but didn't try to reach her.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, around lunchtime, Edward came home quickly with Den; the anxiety made him act clumsily. He was nervous and his heart was about to explode, as well as his head.  
... If only he had told her what he really felt... If only he had the courage.  
Determined to face her after everything that happened, he walked faster. But he had to calm down before talking to her. Sweating on his face, he walked straight into the house and let the doggie off her leash. He knew he looked like a wreck, not only because he had arrived breathless but also because of the TWO sleepless nights.  
At that moment, Winry passed in front of his eyes and he witnessed the cold distance in her stare; it seemed like she wanted to avoid him. The awkward part, when you live together like brother and sister, is to not be able to have individual living spaces when there are squabbles.  
He could feel his heart in his ears, as always, looking at her. Winry looked wonderful. How could she be so beautiful even when she was angry was a mystery. Hot as hell, she was quiet as if she hadn't worked the whole morning trying to shake off the bad mood. But he could see by her face she's somewhat troubled: her lips are tightly set. Those eyes were a little darker and definitely more sad.  
Winry headed for the doorway to leave the house and walked just a few inches away from him without raising her head. Edward was still flushed, sweaty and out of control.  
As soon as she opened the door, he stood behind her and closed it before losing his nerves. "Forgive me," he said, trying to speak in a lower voice.  
Her gaze fell on Ed's hand, leaning against the door before her eyes.  
"I didn't mean to scare you and... I'm sorry I could't control myself... It's the situation we're in, I can't seem to stop invading your personal space," Ed really had a sad look. "Yet when we were kids we spent all our time together."  
Winry's face turned pale.  
But he continued, "Apparently we're not anymore." That sentence wasn't said with sadness; it was more like an awareness.  
She looked worried about where that was going. But he didn't mean to say that it was impossible for them to live together as they used to.  
Edward pulled his hand away from the door.  
Winry stood still, her back was still to Ed.  
"After we argued yesterday... I've thought a lot, about you, about everything" he went on.  
She turned to Ed and lifted her chin. Her blue eyes searched for his. "Ed, I..."  
It was harder for him to talk but he decided not to stop "Please, let me get this out".  
The girl sighed.  
"You're the... you're one of the people I care about the most" he forced himself to hold her gaze. "You ... you literally got me on my feet again, cried for me, had faith in me when I couldn't see it in myself anymore, you've always been there for me," he lowered his head and looked at her hands.  
She moved her hands, as if she was trying to reach him somehow, but stopped them in mid-air and put her fingers to her lips.  
"It's thanks to you that Alphonse and I can at least feel happy, at home." Now he knew it, it was what he always wanted. "However, I shouldn't expect anything from you."  
"No Ed, that's not what I meant-"  
"I've been a real jerk and I apologize for everything I've done and said these past two days" he interrupted her. "But there's one thing I don't want to apologize for" he looked at her lips, his tone was serious, "My desire to protect you."  
Winry was deeply moved but he didn't stop.  
"And that's what I did because that's all I wanted to do, I don't want to tell you what that bastard said because it would be useless and furthermore it disgusts me, but you can trust me. Please. I won't let anyone hurt you, Al or Granny, even if it means pissing you off."  
Then, after a little pause, he said: "That's what I meant when I told you that you couldn't easily get rid of me."  
Ed thought Winry must have felt the way he did when she said it first, as children. Perhaps, before making all that fuss, he even wished, in his heart, to admit he was awfully jealous. He wanted to tell her not to date anyone else because she belonged to him alone. Edward was a little embarrassed about it, in retrospect. Deep inside, Winry was just a friend, right? His purpose was to keep that loser away from her and nothing more.  
In that instant, his tone became more gentle. Tenderness? No, not exactly.  
"I can't do otherwise, Winry, not in any way" his tone was kind, sincere, he wanted to take her hands in his but he didn't want to risk hurting her again with his arrogance; moreover, to tell the truth, he would have never had the guts.  
Winry opened her lips but no sound came out as she looked up to his eyes.  
"Win..." he went on, not receiving an answer, "If you trust me, please…" he took a step closer to her.  
She waited.  
"Please don't date him."  
The girl sighed. "Don't worry. I won't. "  
Finally, a smile on Ed's face.  
And she, in turn, couldn't help but smile.  
"Well," he commented, "otherwise I would have come with you to kick his ass!" He tried to be ironic and cover his embarrassment, making her smile again.  
Alphonse walked by them, smiling and raising his thumb in approval over Winry's shoulder so she couldn't see it. Then, he kind of nodded.  
Edward suddenly became nervous and swallowed loudly. He took a deep breath and stammered, "Um... er... Win..."  
"Yup?"  
"Since... well, we were talking about it and... I would hate it if you were sorry about that and... I wanted... yeah, let's say that we could still... you know... if that's okay with you..."  
"What's up, Ed? Something wrong?" the girl became worried.  
"Saturday!" he exclaimed "We are... we could go out anyway if you like... we..."  
Winry's cheeks turned red and a shy smile appeared on her face.  
"Me, you and Al," Ed corrected himself, instantly afraid of getting rejected.  
The blonde girl's smile turned into a bewildered grimace.  
"NO!" Alphonse blurted out, "I definitely can't this Saturday."  
Winry jumped in surprise, not imagining that Al was right behind her, but when she turned around, the boy had already vanished to give Edward no cause to be such a chicken.  
"Oh." _Damn it, Alphonse_. "Well, then I suppose... maybe another time, uh?" He backed off, scratching the back of his head.  
"IT'S OK IF IT'S YOU AND ME!" Winry said in a slightly high-pitched voice. "I... I'd be really happy," she was too embarrassed to look him in the eye.  
Edward stood there, listening to her, and for a moment he forgot to answer. Then he recovered, "R-Really?" In a moment he blushed violently, "I mean... OK! SURE! Ok!" He tried in every possible way to look resolute, "You can decide where you'd like to go then! Ah-Ah!" His nervous laugh, however, was kind of unsettling.  
"Mh!" approved Winry, with her cheeks still red.  
Then she turned and started to leave, trying to look cool and casual, but suddenly stopped. "Ed!"  
The boy, still with his head in the clouds, woke up hearing her call his name, "…Yes?"  
Winry closed that infinitesimal distance that separated them and found herself a breath away from him, "Thank you."  
It was a blink of an eye, so unexpected that Ed almost faltered.  
"Thank you for protecting me."  
She whispered in the sweetest tone ever heard on planet Earth.  
Edward held his breath.  
For a few seconds he stood there gawping. Then he smiled sweetly. How could he tell her that she really didn't need to thank him? How could he let her know that protecting her was the most natural thing in the world for him and that she didn't even need to ask? But above all, how could he let her know that she was always in his mind?  
He gently placed a hand on her head and held it to his cheek. There was no need to say anything.  
Winry raised her head from his racing heart and looked him in the eyes again, even if that means she had to break up that sweet contact.  
Ed saw Winry's clear eyes. All coldness had vanished, her cheeks were red and her eyelashes slightly wet.  
 _I don't know if I'll ever be able to tell you what I feel_ – he thought – _but I'll do everything to make you happy and smiling as you are right now. Forever._


End file.
